disease in a subdiaphragmatic site occurs in only about 3% of cases. Ann-Arbor staging classification(4) distinguishes four stages according to the extension of ...
Review Article Epidemiology of Childhood Hodgkin’s Disease: Is it Different in Developing Countries?
cancer(2). First recognised by Thomas Hodgkin(3) in 1832, the etiology of HD is still subject to numerous speculations. Epidemiological findings suggest that it might have a different etiology in different age groups.
Veronique Dinand Laxman S. Arya
Definition HD is a lymphoreticular malignancy characterised by a progressive painless enlargement of lymph nodes and defined by specific histopathological features. These include a partial or total replacement of nodal architecture by an inflammatory cellular background containing Reed-Sternberg (RS) cells or their variants. Characteristic RS cells are binucleate or multinucleate giant cells, with prominent nucleoli and abundant cytoplasm. The Rye morphologic classification has been modified with the addition of immunological markers in the World Health Organisation (WHO) classification(3).
Childhood Hodgkin’s Disease (HD) is a lymphoma that displays characteristic epidemiological, clinical and pathological features according to various geographic areas, particularly according to the socio-economic level of a given country. India presents a similar sex, age and subtype distribution as other emerging countries: high male-to-female ratio, younger age at presentation, high proportion of advanced stages and presence of constitutional symptoms, predominance of mixed cellularity type of HD. The etiology of HD is still the subject of controversy and investigation, but it may occur as a sequel of a viral infection during early childhood, such as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Most cases of Indian childhood HD are associated to EBV, while genetic predisposition is seen in very rare cases. Key words:
Probably originating in a single lymph node, HD spreads by extension to contiguous nodes. The most common presentation of HD in children is a painless cervical lymphadenopathy, usually unilateral. Primary disease in a subdiaphragmatic site occurs in only about 3% of cases. Ann-Arbor staging classification(4) distinguishes four stages according to the extension of the disease at the moment of diagnosis. In western countries, 75% of newly diagnosed patients have early disease at presentation (stage I-II)(5-7). In less economically developed countries, however, more than half of the patients have advanced disease (stage III-IV)(8-11), perhaps because of delayed diagnosis and referral.
Introduction In 1990, countries with limited resources accounted for 86% of the world’s children (
